Cooler heads must prevail in Hurley arbitration ruling
As Commissioner Leonard wrote in his article responding to Oregonian editorials on the arbitration ruling that awarded Mr. Hurley retroactive wages, the anger over the principal of paying Mr. Hurley is understandable, but emotion and politics should not drive City leaders to add insult to injury and set the City up to have to pay Mr. Hurley even more.
Council proclaims March 10, 2010 Tibet Awareness Day
On Wednesday, Mayor Sam Adams read a proclamation to declare March 10, 2010 Tibetan Awareness Day. About 50 members of Portland Tibetan community came to Council Chambers to testify and show their appreciation for the proclamation. The Northwest Tibetan Cultural Association will sponsor a commemoration next week on the front steps of City Hall. Click here for more information.
Historic John Yeon building renovations almost complete
The renovations to the historic Portland Visitor's Center are nearly complete! The building, designed by architect John Yeon, has been painstakingly restored over the last year since the building passed from Parks to the Water Bureau. Bureau staff, in concert with Friends of John Yeon, have worked to restore the building to it's former state. The new occupants, the Portland Rose Festival Foundation, are slated to move in later this month.
Water Bureau puts scofflaw landlords on notice with policy change
This week, the Water Bureau announced it will begin authorizing water shut-offs for delinquent multi-family account holders. The policy is aimed at delinquent landlords who took advantage of the Bureau's previous no shut-off policy by charging their tenants for water service and then refusing to pay the water bill due to the Water Bureau and pocketing the money for themselves. Both landlords and tenants will be given notice of any pending shut-off, allowing both parties a chance to take action.
City introduces portlandoregon.gov as its new domain, and City emails get simple
On March 2, the City email address domain changed to portlandoregon.gov. Don't worry, the old domain, ci.portland.or.us, will still function for the next year or so as the City transitions.
Powell Butte drinking water reservoir moving along
Check out fantastic photos of the construction at Powell Butte.
Calling all Mother-in-Laws! Council votes to suspend SDCs on Accessory Dwelling Units
Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs), sometimes called Mother-in-Law units, will be easier to build as of April 15, 2010. The City Council voted unanimously this week to suspend systems development charges (SDCs) on these units for a period of three years in an effort to meet both the City's affordable housing and density goals. Currently, SDCs for an ADU run from $7,000-$12,000, which is a disproportionate cost of total construction for the average ADU and a barrier to ADU construction across the City. The resolution is not retroactive, as the measure was designed to incent construction that would otherwise not take place.
Bureau of Development Services proposes to eliminate reliance on shopping carts
The City Council heard a proposal from BDS on February 9th to update their outdated technology system, which should allow BDS to function at it's peak with fewer staff than before, which will reduce the need for layoffs in future economic downturns. The proposal includes digitizing and making available electronically all records, allowing for electronic submittal and review of building plans, and bringing mobile inspections to the field. BDS is proposing the update in concert with the Bureau of Technology Services.
Here comes the sun!
The Water Bureau's solar array at the Columbia Southshore Wellfield generated 16,571 Kilowatt hours in February, enough to power 18 homes for a month! That number is up from just 6,504 Kilowatt hours generated in January. Here comes the sun!
For the week of February 27 - March 5, 2010, the Water Bureau solar array generated 4,079 Kilowatt hours of electricity, down from the previous week's total of 4,807 Kilowatt hours. This week's total is enough to power almost 19 average households for a week! For realtime data on the Water Bureau solar array, click here.